living in: a charlie brown christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is an undisputed holiday classic, but cross my heart, I had never seen it before today. I knew all about the scraggly tree, and I’d heard the soundtrack a million times, but for some reason our paths hadn’t officially crossed until I sat down to write this post.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to have a proper viewing; the beloved 1965 animation is a full 25 minutes of pure, understated sweetness. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, I just might be the Charlie Browniest, so it’s extra nice to get a little holiday spark whenever I can muster it. A little scrawny tree, a frozen pond and a whirl on the ice with a cute puppy dog certainly would help my cause, too. — Amy M.

OH MY GOSH. This post makes me so happy, and brings back the best memories of when we (all my siblings and all my cousins) would put on a Charlie Brown Christmas show for the family on Christmas day (we wrote a script, got costumes, made a set, and everything)… my youngest brother would bring my mother and aunts and grandmother to tears when he as Linus told the Christmas story (“but that’s not what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”) GREAT post.

My grandmother just gave me a ton of old ornaments that even I had never seen her use, including the above icycle twists, but the originals! I’m sure she wonders why i can’t get enough of any beat up old mid century artifcat i can find:)

Dude, seriously? I’ll be back when I recover. I’m serious…I first saw it in 1966 & unless living abroad (about 4 different times), I’ve never missed it. I feel for you:) It might not be as fun if you didn’t grow up with it.

The next time I teach my class what “irony” is, I will be sure to reference this list–spending over $800 to look like you are living in a simple cartoon that criticizes COMMERCIALIZING Christmas. A $75 jingle bell ring from Kate Spade exemplifies perfectly Lucy’s “aluminium” tree!

Visually, these things work well, especially the ornaments. I know you strive to find things that fit the “spirit” of thing being lived in, but I think you missed the message. How about including some homemade items or a popcorn garland for the tree, or something that glorifies how important friends are to the season (notice how the tree suddenly looks better in everyone’s eyes when friends have worked on it?)?

I can vividly remember the excitement of watching A Charlie
Brown Christmas when it first aired in 1965. I was 10, and the
Peanuts were my friends. It’s truly amazing how relevant the
message has stood the test of time.. but we need it even more today
than we did 45 years ago.

So happy to see how many people share a love of this movie
and soundtrack. It’s been a personal holiday favorite for 40 years
and I have the cd in my car right now! If you can’t see it on TV,
just get the dvd. Then you can get in the Christmas spirit whenever
you want! : )

A great roundup for my favorite Christmas movie! Just a gentle reminder, however, that the “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” sold at mega-chains everywhere is exactly the type of thing Charlie was trying to avoid by getting a non-commercial tree!

Great product round-up, but I’m afraid this movie didn’t
hold up so well for me upon adult re-watching. Was very excited to
see it with my little guy last year, but had to turn it off after
15 minutes. Humbug, I suppose.

I love “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” but the sweetness factor seems to be lost on my 11 year old. Not enough Bling? Bling? CBCT maybe a little to sophisticated for him. When I watched as a child there was less to watch and parents were fans.

Love this! What a great choice! I was born in 1964, and this special defined my childhood Christmases. This and other specials were a once-a-year event that we couldn’t wait for! The soundtrack, by the amazing Vince Guaraldi, is always on high rotation on my cd player once December rolls around.

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